Ciorba de salata - Lettuce broth or Lettuce Soup
Lettuce Broth from Carpathia: Food From The Heart of Romania (Frances Lincoln, 2020)
Ingredients
- 20 ml sunflower or vegetable oil I used a mild olive oil
- 1 onion peeled and grated
- 1 carrot peeled and grated
- 1.5 litres vegetable stock I used Marigold bouillon
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 heads romaine lettuce I used baby gems
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
- 3 spring onions roughly chopped
- 1 bunch dill roughly chopped
- 200 grams Greek yoghurt
- olive oil To drizzle, I use my best olive oil
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
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Start by heating the olive oil in a pan deep enough to cook the soup.
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Cook the onion and carrot over a medium heat until caramelised
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Add the vegetable stock and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
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While the veg is cooking, make the omelette
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Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and cook the beaten eggs for one minute on each side. Season and set aside to cool
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Cut omelette into long strips
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Divide the yoghurt into a bowl.
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Add the shredded lettuce and vinegar to the broth and bring to the boil, then remove immediately from the heat.
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Using a large spoon, take some of the hot broth and add it slowly to the yoghurt until the mixture is hot.
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Next, pour it back into the pot and stir gently to combine.
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Taste and season to your preference
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Add the chopped spring onions, dill and arrange the sliced omelette into the soup
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Drizzle over some good quality olive oil to finish off with a flourish
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I served the soup warm which was delicious but it can also be served cold. It does not reheat well.